Jewel Zabra
Jewel Zabra (also known as "Nimble Jewel Zabra" within the Resistance) is a young woman who was a swashbuckler of the Resistance and a member of the crew of the ''Grand Fife, ''under the command of Sydney Underhill. Physical Appearance Jewel is 5'3" in height and weighs 105 lbs. Her skin is slightly tan, although given that she originates from Mooshu, her skin has a more yellow tint to it as compared to Sydney or Samantha. Her hair is unusually long, straight, and black, and she keeps it in a single braid which goes past her hips in length. Her eyes are a vivid emerald green. As her title, "Nimble," suggests, Jewel is extremely thin and lithe, and is very agile and quick on her feet in combat as a result. She wears no hat, although she does wear a purple silk coat (presumably from Mooshu, her homeland) embroidered with various intricate designs, and she wears a belt around her waist which also holds the sheaths for her numerous daggers, which are her primary weapons. Jewel's age at the beginning of Common Motives is 20, but by the end of the storyline, she is 23. Personality Although she usually means well, Jewel has a naturally skeptical and cynical personality, unlike her best friend and shipmate, Samantha Hawkins. She is much more pessimistic than Samantha as well, as shown by how quickly she gave up hope after being locked in the brig by her own Captain, even though Samantha was determined to escape. Jewel is also rather nosy, as she does have an instinct of sorts to listen in on conversations and/or observe others from a distance, regardless of whether it is her business to do so or not. However, despite this, Jewel is very critical of herself, and is extremely envious of both of her crewmates. This is the main focus of Chapter 25, in which her anger at herself drives her to resorting to self - harm. It is frequently mentioned that she wishes that she had Samantha's strength, as well as Sydney's leadership capabilities, and despises the fact that she must rely on the element of surprise in order to launch a successful attack or assault. Background Jewel was born and raised in Mooshu as the only child of two medicine experts who held many of the Spiral's secrets to healing, and trained her from an early age to continue in the family business, regardless of the fact that she herself did not wish to do so. Since she would not officially take over the trade until her parents were no longer able to, she was made the guard of the medicine storehouse, a vault that contained every known medicine in the Spiral - thus, how she attained her combat skills. Jewel first came into contact with Sydney Underhill when the privateer broke into the medicine storehouse, and with the element of surprise on her side, easily overwhelmed her. Jewel would have killed her, if it was not for the fact that Sydney had revealed her motive for breaking in - which was that she needed to find a cure for Samantha, who was deathly ill at the time. Sydney had then taken Jewel back to the ship so that she could examine Samantha, and Jewel had recognized Samantha's symptoms to be that of the Monquistan Flu, a disease that she did, in fact, have the cure for. Realizing that these skills in both combat and medicine would make Jewel a valuable addition, Sydney extended the offer to join her crew to Jewel, who accepted with some hesitation (as she had never left her homeland in her life). Role in "Common Motives" Jewel is a supporting character to Sydney Underhill for the majority of Common Motives. Although she does realize that there is ''something ''wrong with Sydney, Jewel never takes action to confront her Captain about it, rather, she chastises herself for being "too suspicious" of her friends, as she does hate her own skepticism. She convinces herself into becoming oblivious, choosing to ignore Sydney's strange behavior in hopes that it will make her a more trusting friend to both Sydney and Samantha, but this proves to be her downfall, as it also allows her to be easily manipulated into working towards Sydney's hidden agenda of building an Armada of her own. Jewel is the one to discover the terminated frame of Optimus Caerulus inside Sydney's cabin before Sydney locks both her and Samantha within the brig and abandons the ship (as well as abandoning the both of them) at the docks of the Isle of Doom. Jewel manages to escape the ''Grand Fife ''with Samantha's help, and they head towards the Ancient Ruins, hoping to retrieve Sydney, as she had turned the Ruins into a fortress of her own. After making a temporary alliance with Hunter and Dangler (as they are also seeking out Sydney for different reasons), Samantha and Jewel discover a path within the internal walls of the Tunnels that leads directly to Sydney's throne chamber. Although Samantha pleads for Jewel to refrain from doing so, Jewel confronts Sydney, begging her to return to the "way that she was" and to come back to them, saying that she misses "the old Sydney." This, of course, sends Sydney into a state of rage, and Sydney pounces upon Jewel and rips her apart, ultimately killing her. Category:Characters